Ousted Helldivers 2 Community Manager Explains Why PlayStation are Suddenly Enforcing the PSN Account-Linking Rule, and It Might Make You Redirect Your Anger

Helldivers 2 has faced some backlash and controversy in the past, but the most recent one may be its worst yet. The game launched with great reviews, and the fan base supported the title in every way possible. That sentiment has endured for a long time, but PlayStation is working to ruin it.

While people are quick to blame the developers for most, if not all, of the issues with the game, the vitriol being spewed against the team is unwarranted. After all, this is not something Arrowhead Game Studios wanted for its title, and it is doing its best to put out the fires.

Over the years, online play has become not only more complex but far more monetized. Whether it’s console-specific subscription services or one required for a specific game, playing online is rarely free these days. So, when gamers are told to jump through even more hoops, it doesn’t go down well with the community.

That’s what we’re seeing happen with Helldivers 2 after Sony’s recent announcement. The company has announced players are given a grace period, during which they must link their Steam account with a PSN account to continue accessing the game. This has not been received well by the community, who have been blowing up the official Discord channel to such a degree that a community manager even quit the channel!

Spitz has been fielding insults and criticisms on the Discord front, with them being largely unwarranted. They have revealed the reason behind the decision, and it appears the matter is out of Arrowhead’s hands. Sony requires some way to ban PC players, and the only way they can do that easily is if the player has a PSN account.

We doubt this is going to do anything to turn the sentiment against the title. However, it can direct the anger away from Arrowhead and towards Sony. Given that the title is a PlayStation exclusive, the studio has its hands tied on the matter of how Sony wishes to conduct its business.

Spitz himself has also come under fire for his reaction to some player’s criticisms, with him mysteriously ‘leaving’ the community Discord and putting his own personal socials to private. This could be his attempt at placating the community, as he has unfairly become the main target, but it could also just as easily be something more we’re yet to find out.

Whether it’s Arrowhead or Sony, at the end of the day, players are taking their anger out on Helldivers 2. Thousands of negative reviews have appeared on the game’s Steam page, severely affecting its average and overall sentiment ratings. This is bad news given the fact that the game just revealed a new Warbond.

The title has suffered criticism before for bugs and glitches, but this might severely affect its player base. The daily concurrent player count has been well over hundreds of thousands consistently, and that’s on Steam alone. The game is not performing as well on console, and this decision could cause it to bleed PC players as well.

We’ll have to wait and see how Sony responds to all the backlash. The best-case scenario is that they don’t make the account linkage a mandatory decision or figure out a way to work more efficiently with Valve to process their ban appeals.

Do you think Sony’s decision could be the death of the game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!